Friday, December 6, 2013

'Cause I'm feelin' groovy...

Uh, no, I didn't catch a love bug. See, for that to happen, I'd have to...well, nevermind.

Watched the live version of The Sound of Music on NBC last night,with Carrie Underwood.

When I first heard of the project, I thought it was a movie remake, and therefore heresy. But then I learned it was a live performance on a huge studio soundstage on Long Island. I can live with that.

It wasn't perfect - Captain Von Trapp was a bit stiff for most of the performance - but overall it was an excellent production, much better than the garbage usually on TV these days, and an object lesson of what television once was, and can still aspire to be.

And apparently it drew an amazing number of viewers.

As we left Vienna in March 1975, via Pan Am or TWA 707, not across the Swiss border, I'd admired a set of cufflinks with the Austrian crest in der Flughafen gift shop. About 15 minutes into the flight, my Dad presented me with these. The talons do not have the hammer & sickle and broken chain, but instead hold a banner that reads 'Österreich':

Hey Carrie/Maria, look what I'm wearing...

No, that was not intended in a creepy way.

I awoke about every hour-and-a-half last night, checking the weather forecasts, and for emails/texts to see if my office would open today. About five minutes before I was to leave the house, my boss phoned to tell me I could stay home if I wanted, since I live a fair distance from work.

Yeah, I went anyway - and arrived first. I had one employee show up.

Before he arrived, I shoveled ice from the front walk for about 15 minutes, and put out some ice melt.

I ended up with a mild pain between my shoulder blades afterward. Maybe a small adult beverage before bedtime will assist in that regard.

Just a wee dram, of course...

Small&smaller

Despite there being easily 10 restaurants within walking distance from where I work, none was open. I had to go to the Albertson's - hoping to get some hot deli chicken or somesuch - and ended up with pre-wrapped sandwiches, chips and bananas for my employee and me.

We closed early.

After researching and checking sales for about 6 weeks, I bought an Android tablet (on sale) this afternoon. I tried to get the sales guy to throw in a memory card as a deal sweetener - he wouldn't do it - but he did discount the card by 60%. Fair enough.

Hey, ya don't get what ya don't ask for.

Driving in this morning wasn't too bad. By the afternoon, the bridges were covered with moguls (not the Bill Gates and Warren Buffet kind). You couldn't go faster than 5 mph - the bumps were 4-6" tall and rocked vehicles to and fro.

What the heck business is it of TxDoT's to care about my traveling state of mind?

I mean, maybe I want to travel light, or travel joyfully, or travel with a caravan; but it sure sounds like a bummer to travel discouraged.

Are TxDoT's messages now sponsored by the makers of Prozac or Zoloft?

Here, discouraged traveler Tom Joad (Hank Fonda) tends to some automobile issues. Having leveraged his 401-k, he's planning a boutique winery in Napa Valley, hoping for a better life on the left coast - at least until all the hippies take over and plunge the Golden State into financial ruin.

Earlier this week, Cabela's advertised 'Free Shipping' for online orders. Noting that I had a stack of gift cards accumulating, I ordered some of these lil' beauties. They travel fast: